When is a Calvinist not a Calvinist?

When his theology and teaching are man-centered.

Calvinists believe that fallen, sinful, rebellious men and women (and children) are unwilling and unable to repent of their sin and to come in faith to Christ. We Calvinists believe that for someone to respond properly to the gospel God must first send forth an effectual call that gives the sinner both the willingness and ability to repent and believe.

Furthermore, the Calvinist believes that after a person is regenerated and converted to Christ, he is still totally dependent upon God’s work in him “both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure” – to live as a God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-dependent and obedient Christian who reflects Christ in his life. In short, we confess with Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor.15:10).

The gospel of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ is good news about what God does for sinners and in sinners and through sinners who are totally unable to do those things themselves. The Bible is all about this wonderful Savior and His saving work which alone can bring us to God and enable us to follow Christ in newness of life. In this new life we are “enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 35).

With such a God-centered theology and Christ-centered message, why would anyone descend to man-centered preaching and teaching? Such a ministry will be neither saving nor sanctifying (unless God is pleased to overrule it, of course).

What do I mean by “man-centered preaching?” I do not mean that the preacher does not know the Lord or desire to preach Christ. I do not mean (necessarily) that he is a heretic or a deceiver. I simply mean that in his ministry the Bible is approached in a very un-Calvinistic way. Such a ministry uses the Bible as a book of principles to be implemented and examples to be imitated. In the name of “practical Christianity” or “application in preaching” we are told that God blessed certain people because of what they did and if we do the same thing He will bless us. In fact, some go as far as saying (or at least implying) that we are not being blessed because we are not implementing the right principles or following the right examples. Then comes the guilt-trip to try to get us to do more.

As has been said in other posts (see http://jotzandtittlez.blogspot.com/2011/04/bible-what-its-all-about-1.html), the Bible is about God’s saving work through Christ, not about man’s self-saving or self-sanctifying work through the use of principles and examples. Even as a believer, I am still in need of salvation from the remaining darkness in my mind, the remaining perversion in my affections, and the remaining rebellion in my will. There is no quick fix to remaining corruption except suicide (which I am NOT advocating, of course). No amount of surrender, consecration, imitation, mystical expereinces or down home advice can deliver me from the sinning that my Savior alone can save me from. And that salvation does not come from considering what everyone else in Scripture did, but what God alone can do and does for His people. See Him in the Bible and preach Him in the pulpit. 

Born Again

    Being born again…by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 

(1 Peter 1:23)

In verse 22 the apostle Peter was inspired by the Holy Spirit to command us to do something that is truly impossible to man: “love one another with a pure heart fervently.” Fallen, self-centered man is unable and unwilling to love others in the same way he loves himself. He cannot deny his sinful nature because he is a slave to sin. Therefore he cannot love others in a way that is acceptable to God. Fallen man cannot stop being self-centered.

However, Peter is telling believers to love one another fervently. Why can he tell believers to do something that unbelievers cannot do? He gives the reason in verse 23: “Being born again.” What happens to make us able to act against our fallen nature? Peter calls it the new birth. This phrase is also used in other places in the New Testament to describe the change that God makes in someone to save him.

In John chapter 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus about the new birth. Jesus says that Nicodemus does not believe in Jesus because he has not yet received new life through the new birth. (John 3.3, 5, 11-12). Peter tells us that we were “begotten again unto a lively hope” (1.Pt.1.3). Because we have been given new life in Christ we have a hope and expectation that is very real and certain. Those who are still dead in sin have no hope and are without God in this world. In the epistle of James we are told that we were “begat…of the word of truth”. (Jas.1.18) This verse points to the same fact Peter brings out in our verse above. God gave us new life through His Word.

What does new birth and new life have to do with loving others? Since fallen man cannot act against his fallen nature, he needs a new nature if he is going to obey God. His fallen nature does not want to deny itself and love others. So, man needs a new life to do new things. What was impossible to fallen man becomes possible to the regenerated man. The Holy Spirit gives us a new nature that wants to obey God. He also gives us grace to do what our new nature wants. In this way we are ready, with the continued help of the Holy Spirit, to do what was impossible before.

Peter tells us that God uses His Word in giving us new life. How does He do it? That is a mystery. All believers can testify to the fact that God revealed Himself to them through His word. We can all say that God continues to bless His Word to us for our spiritual health. Exactly how He does it, we do not know. Peter calls God’s Word a “seed” in this verse. The seed is hidden in the ground when it sprouts forth. No one sees it until the plant comes up out of the ground. God’s Word is put into the heart when it gives new life. No one sees that either, but the life that springs forth is visible to all. The difference between God’s seed and plant seeds is this: God’s seed never fails to bring forth life. Farmers would love to have seeds like that! We do.

Have you been born again?

A More Sure Word

We have also a more sure word of prophecy…(2 Peter 1:19)

As death stares the apostle Peter in the face he tells the readers of his epistle that he is happy to be able to remind them of certain truths. He feels it his duty to help them think about the basic truths of the Gospel so they can pay closer attention to them after he is gone. As he explains these truths it is important for Peter to remind his readers that what he tells them is not just a fairy tale but the report of an eyewitness who saw the glory of Christ. He reminds them that he saw this glory when the Lord Jesus was transfigured on the mountain. He also heard the voice of God speaking directly to him in special revelation.

Despite having heard something by direct revelation from God, Peter says that there is a word that is “more sure”. How is it "more sure"? Is it possible that what Peter heard on the mountain was wrong? Of course not. It was God Himself who spoke. Then how can something be surer? Peter wants his readers to “take heed” or pay close attention to this word that is surer. He goes on to describe this word as a “prophecy of scripture” and talks about how the scriptures were written. In other words, he is contrasting this written word with the spoken testimony of those who had been eyewitnesses of the majesty of Christ. What Peter is comparing is the experience of the apostles and the writings of the apostles. The experiences of the apostles may be very true, but these experiences are not what we are to “pay heed” to. What Peter tells us to pay attention to is the written Word of God.

How can the written Word of God be surer than the experiences of the apostles? It is "more sure" because it has been inspired by God. The only way we can know the experiences of the apostles is from the written Word of God itself. This alone should tell us which is surer. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the experiences of the apostles are infallible. In the gospels we read of many experiences the apostles had that show us just how little they understood of Christ. If we had nothing but their experiences we would know as little as they did! Furthermore, the Lord Jesus promised that they should learn more about Him after the Holy Spirit had come. They were inspired to write these things in their epistles, which are part of the Word of God.

In some countries people are used to the electricity being cut off without warning. It is therefore common that they can go right to the place where they keep the candles without hitting anything in the dark. They have trained themselves by repetition to be able to go right to the light. Are we like that with the Bible? We live in a dark world. Many are calling us to believe their experiences and teachings. How do we respond when we are told about some unusual experience or some “new” truth? Are we able to go right to the light to see if what they say is true? God help us to train ourselves to do that, for…

We have a more sure word.